IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS - LESSON 23

(to) cut someone some slack to be forgiving; to not judge someone too harshly EXAMPLE: Cut Gretchen some slack for failing to finish the report on time. She's going through a bitter divorce.

(to) run a tight ship to run something effectively and efficiently EXAMPLE: Jack Welch is known as one of the greatest business leaders ever. He ran a tight ship while he was the CEO of General Electric.

(to) turn a blind eye to something to ignore a problem or an issue; to refuse to recognize EXAMPLE: Every September when the school year starts, pens and paper disappear from our company's supply room. We can no longer turn a blind eye

to this.

Shape up or ship out! improve your behaviour or leave; if you don't improve your performance, you're going to get fired EXAMPLE: Martin finally had enough of Todd's negative attitude. "Shape up or ship out!" he told Todd. ORIGIN: This expression was first used in the U.S. military during World War Two, meaning: you'd better follow regulations and behave yourself ("shape up"), or you're going to be sent overseas to a war zone ("ship out").

on the dot sharp; at an exact time EXAMPLE: The videoconference with our Tokyo office will start at 10 a.m. on

the dot. Telling Somebody Off, Part 2:

The Next Day...

Doug: Sorry, I'm running behind. I had to... Kara: Don't waste your breath! You're three hours late again Doug: But my car wouldn't start, my mechanic is on vacation in Florida, and then I... Kara: Today was the last straw. You're fired! Doug: That's fine. I was miserable working for a slave driver like you anyway! Kara: Don't burn your bridges. You may need me later as a reference.

IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS - LESSON 17 Part 2

(to be) running behind to be late; to be delayed EXAMPLE: I'm calling to say I'm running behind. I'll be at your office in 15 minutes. SYNONYM: running late

don't waste your breath don't bother; don't bother trying to defend yourself; I don't want to hear your excuses EXAMPLE: Don't waste your breath trying to talk me into buying an advertisement in your magazine. I've already spent my advertising budget for the year.

(the) last straw the final offence or annoyance that pushes one to take action EXAMPLE: First you tell me 1 can't have an office and now you're cutting my salary. This is the last straw. I quit! ORIGIN: This saying comes from another expression that you may also hear: the straw that broke the camel's back. When you load up a camel straw by straw, each individual straw doesn't weigh much. However, eventually, the load will get so heavy that one extra straw will break the camel's back. In the same

way, people can tolerate small annoyances. But when there get to be too many, people finally get fed up and take action.

slave driver a very demanding and often cruel boss or supervisor EXAMPLE: You're going to be working late hours as an assistant brand manager in Linda's group. She's a real slave driver! ORIGIN: In the days of slavery, the slave driver was the person who oversaw the slaves as they worked.

(to) burn one's bridges to do something which makes it impossible to go back; to damage a relationship to such an extent that one can never go back to that person again EXAMPLE: When he was fired, Chad really felt like telling Lisa that she was a terrible manager, but he didn't want to burn his bridges. ORIGIN: This expression comes from the military. Soldiers dating back to the days of the Roman Empire used to burn the bridges behind them. This meant the Roman troops couldn't retreat; they had to keep moving forward. It also made it more difficult for the enemy to follow them.

PRACTICE THE IDIOMS

Fill in the blanks, using the following idioms.

slave driver the last straw

shape up or ship out run a tight ship

What's the deal? cut me some slack

pulling his weight spare me the sob story

sick and tired turn a blind eye Jill is a manager of the automotive department at Sears. One of her salespeople, Len, isn't ___________ Jill is __________ of the fact that Len shows up late every day and is constantly flirting with Tatiana, the saleswoman in the electronics department. Yesterday, Jill watched as Len was rude to a customer. "Go get your tires somewhere else!" Len yelled at the customer. That was _________________________ She pulled him aside and said to him, "Len, ________________ !" Len was surprised. "___________ " he asked. "I thought you and I were friends, and now suddenly you're turning into a _____________." Jill replied, "Len, I do like you, but I'm trying to _____________ here. I can no longer ____________ to the fact that you're not taking this job very seriously." Len turned red and frowned. "Hey, _______________ I've been under a lot of stress lately at home." Jill didn't want to hear any excuses. " __________________," she replied.

ANSWER KEY p.157

Lesson 18

DISCUSSING OFFICE SCANDALS

With his naughty behaviour, Bill Swing provides plenty of material for office gossip. Cindy and Steve discuss his latest move and review his other recent insensitive behaviour.

Cindy: Did you hear the latest dirt?